"Except in 56 administrative sectors out of the 416 of the country, the activities of the gacaca (to pronounce gatchatcha) courts are advancing at a rate which makes it possible to affirm that by the end of December 2007 all courts will have finished the cases that they have to try", the SNJG writes on its website.
"So that these 56 sectors finish with the others, it will be necessary to increase the number of seats", continues this department charged with the coordination of the activities of the gacaca courts.
According to the same source, 2008 will be devoted primarily to the official end of the activities of the gacaca courts in all of the country, the constitution of the archives and "the organization of an international conference during which Rwanda will share with the international community the experiences derived from the gacaca process ".
The department calls upon the financial backers to find a premium for the gacaca judges who work voluntarily, adds the text. These courts are presided by "honest" people designated by the community.
They must try the majority of the 800 000 genocide suspects; only a small number of "first category" defendants will be transferred before conventional courts.
The gacaca courts have the authority to sentence a person up to life prison, the maximum sentence in Rwanda since the abolition of the death penalty.
ER/PB/MM
© Hirondelle News Agency